Controversy over removal of Palaichori community leader after cluster seat dispute

The community council of Palaichori Oreinis is challenging the automatic removal of its leader, Tasos Michaelides, from office. The Ministry of Interior initiated the process based on a 2021 criminal conviction for offenses including malicious damage, assault, and trespassing. Community officials have labeled the removal an act of retaliation, noting that the process commenced on September 30, 2026, just one day after the council unanimously decided to report the ministry's Director General, Elikkos Elia, to the Cabinet over the relocation of the Madari-Papoutsa Community Services Cluster seat from Palaichori to Alona.

While the Ministry of Interior maintains that the removal is a legal, automatic consequence of the court ruling, the council argues that the timing is highly suspicious. They note that Palaichori serves 1,400 of the cluster's 1,600 residents, whereas Alona has only 29 residents, making the administrative relocation illogical. The council is calling for an administrative inquiry into the ministry's actions and has requested presidential intervention to address what they describe as a breach of institutional order against a leader who has served for 32 consecutive years.